The invention concerns a knee orthosis consisting of a stocking-like stretchable knitted fabric with an annular pad, made of elastic incompressible material, situated in the area of the kneecap.
Such knee orthoses are known already, for example from the European patent specification No. 27 172 as well as from the periodical "Monatskurse fur die arztliche Fortbildung" (monthly courses of medical advanced training), volume 33, 1983, issue 5, pages 10-16. They serve the purpose of supporting or compressing the musculature of the knee joint and the tendinous bands in that area, as well as supporting the kneecap and fixing it in its position. The essential feature for the efficacy of the orthosis is the pad, which is incorporated into the fabric and which, according to the proposal of the above mentioned European patent specification, shall consist of an elastic, but incompressible silicone rubber or a material with the same elasticity and compression properties.
Similar knee orthoses are also described in the European patent application No. 115 029. This orthosis is not, however, a stocking-shaped orthosis, but a narrow bandage provided with holding ribbons, whose pad has the shape of a C or a circular ring. The holding ribbons for this pad are relatively small and, when used, they embrace the leg to be treated in the area of the knee joint.
In the present description the word "orthosis" shall mean an auxiliary apparatus which, generally stated, assists muscular activity and position. The word "pad" shall mean an additional support exerting pressure on certain joint or muscle regions.
The orthoses known before have fundamentally proved good. Nevertheless, in some cases disadvantages were found, consisting, for example, in a slipping of the orthosis during use, so that it could no longer fulfill its function. This disadvantage cannot be remedied simply by making the stocking-shaped fabric tighter, thus increasing the pressure, as especially upon bending of the joint more or less marked wrinkles will form, which will cause local pressures and constrictions. Furthermore, the already known orthoses with one-piece pads are not able to support the musculature of the knee joint laterally nor to center the kneecap.